


Weathering the Storm

by Juli



Series: Days of Summer [12]
Category: Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-14
Updated: 2012-08-14
Packaged: 2017-11-12 02:44:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/485790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juli/pseuds/Juli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a cost to being 'that guy.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Weathering the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Counting down the days of summer with a ficlet a day during August.

It was simple to avoid fireworks; those were only scheduled for special occasions. As a detective, it was easy enough for John to find out who’d filed permits for them and when, making it convenient to take Matt to another part of the city for the duration. It amused John that, despite Matt being a self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist, most of the time the kid didn’t even know what John was up to.

Thunderstorms, on the other hand, were both more frequent and less predictable. Needless to say, John was no longer a fan.

The thunder didn’t wake him, nor did the lightning. An adult lifetime of shift work pretty much meant that John could sleep through almost anything. The sound of Matt’s whimpers, however, was one of the few noises that cut through John’s sleep like a knife through butter. His eyes popped open and he took a moment to orient himself. Lightning briefly lit up the bedroom, but John didn’t need it. He could feel Matt’s warmth against his back as the younger man pressed as close as he could.

John turned carefully, not wanting Matt to think he was being pushed away. When he got face to face with his lover, John could see that Matt was crying, although it also appeared that he was still sound asleep. That was good, the waking nightmares were far harder to deal with. Thunder cracked louder than it had before, with a bright jolt of lightning right on its heels. Matt whimpered again and tried to bury himself against John.

“Hey, Matty-boy.” John’s voice was gentle and completely devoid of sarcasm as he gathered Matt’s huddled body into his arms. He was surprised that Matt’s reaction to the thunderstorm hadn’t wakened him yet. Matt was so stiff and tightly curled up that it hurt John’s muscles just thinking about it. In addition, the younger man’s body was wracked with bone-deep shudders. “Shhh. . . . you’re okay. I’ve got you.”

Either the voice of his lover or the embrace finally penetrated Matt’s frightened mind and he woke up. It was a mixed blessing. On one hand, Matt knew where he was and that he was safe; on the other hand, he started apologizing. “Sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry.”

John kissed the top of Matt’s head and squeezed him tight. “Shhhh. . . you got nothing to be sorry for, Matty. This is a wound, sure as that bullet you took was. You did what needed doing, when it needed to be done. You’re that guy, Matt. You’re that guy all day long.”

John kept up the patter of comforting words as the storm blew itself out. Matt clung to him like a burr. He flinched with every crack of thunder, but was no longer whimpering. With every cringe, John wished that Thomas Gabriel was still alive, just so he could kill him all over again.

Matt did not fit the stereotype of hero, but in John’s book, that’s exactly what the kid was. During the “fire sale” that Gabriel had orchestrated, Matt had kept up with a seasoned cop who was a veteran of terrorist cluster fucks. He’d stuck to John’s side, even after John gave him an opportunity to stay behind - to stay safe. Matt had clearly been scared, of the mess-your-pants type of frightened, but he’d stood his ground. In fact, it was Matt who’d saved the life of John’s daughter. If John hadn’t already fallen for the snarky kid with more smarts than sense, that act would have done it all by itself.

In retrospect, John should have expected Matt to have PTSD. The kid, after all, was a complete civilian; prior to last year’s July 4 debacle, the closest Matt had ever come to violence was those infernal video games of his. John had his police training and experience to pull from; Matt had nothing. It was no wonder that Matt’s delayed response to the harrowing experience was haunting him now.

Matt’s first PTSD incident that John was aware of was a couple of weeks after defeating Gabriel. He and Matt were headed to physical therapy; John for his shoulder and Matt for his leg. John had already convinced Matt to move in with him, which hadn’t been too hard since Matt’s apartment was pretty much toast. They’d shared a cab to the medical facility and as the taxi pulled away, it backfired. The noise had startled John, but not to the extent that it had Matt. In fact, John couldn’t find Matt at first. Despite his leg injury, Matt must have moved incredibly quickly. John eventually found him hiding behind a large flowerpot, fitting inside the tiny space between it and the wall. It had taken John nearly 30 minutes to talk Matt out of his hiding spot and the rest of the day to get him to stop apologizing about it.

The incidents had come fast and furious at first, bad enough that John had insisted on a therapist and even joined Matt in sessions when the doctor suggested it. Slowly, Matt dealt with the stress and John was with him every step of the way. It had gotten to the point where only the combination of booming sounds and bright lights prompted a flashback. Thus, the avoidance of fireworks, but unfortunately thunderstorms couldn’t be so easily dodged.

Eventually, the storm moved on. As the thunder and lightning petered out, Matt gradually began to relax. By the time the only remnant of the storm was the patter of rain against the roof, Matt was half asleep.

“Okay, Matty?” John rubbed the younger man’s back, glad to feel it no longer shaking from tremors and tears.

“Yeah.” Matt hid his face in John’s chest. “Thanks.”

John put a hand under Matt’s chin and lifted his face. “Any time.”

Matt reached up and kissed him. “Since we’re awake already, we could start something . . . “ His seduction attempt was marred by a big yawn.

Laughing softly, John kissed Matt back, but kept it chaste. When their lips parted, he put his hand on the back of Matt’s neck and used it to maneuver the younger man so that he was snuggled with his head under John’s neck.

“Go back to sleep, Matty.” John encouraged Matt. “There’s time enough for that in the morning.”

“Mmmm. . . . gonna hold you to that.” Matt was half asleep already. 

“Can’t wait.” John continued stroking Matt’s back, his touch slow and gentle. Before long, the rhythm of the touch and the lullaby of rain drumming on the roof had lulled Matt rack to sleep.

John was a little slower to follow. He couldn’t protect Matt from Thomas Gabriel and he couldn’t protect Matt from the emotional fallout from what he’d had to survive. All he could do was be there for Matt and support him as much as he could.

If only the weather would cooperate.

~the end~


End file.
